Pension advice & retirement planning

Retirement planning means working out how to fund the life you want once you stop working, and making sure your money lasts. It covers how much to save and where, when you can afford to retire, and how to draw income from pensions, ISAs and investments tax-efficiently. It also protects your plans against inflation, market falls and living longer than expected. For clients with substantial wealth, it means deciding how much to spend, how much to give away during your lifetime and how to pass on the rest. That matters more now that unused pensions will count towards your estate from April 2027.

The standard annual allowance is £60,000 in 2026/27, covering personal and employer contributions and tax relief. Personal contributions receive tax relief on up to 100% of your earnings. If you haven’t used your full allowance in the previous three tax years, carry forward can let you contribute up to £240,000 this year, provided you were a member of a registered pension scheme in those years. High earners may have a reduced tapered allowance, and anyone who has flexibly accessed a pension faces a £10,000 limit.

Personal contributions get tax relief at your highest rate of income tax. With most personal pensions, your provider adds basic-rate relief automatically, so an £80,000 payment becomes £100,000 in your pension. Higher and additional-rate taxpayers claim the rest through self-assessment, bringing the net cost down to £60,000 or £55,000. Employer contributions, including salary sacrifice, are paid before tax, so full relief is given at source.

Combining pensions can simplify your finances, reduce charges and make it easier to invest and draw income consistently. But it isn’t always right. Some older pensions include guaranteed annuity rates, tax-free cash above 25%, or the right to take benefits before 55, and all of these could be lost on transfer. Defined benefit pensions need specialist advice. We review each pension’s features and costs before recommending whether to combine, keep or switch.

A self-invested personal pension (SIPP) is a personal pension with a much wider choice of investments, including funds, shares, bonds and, in some cases, commercial property. It gets the same tax relief as other pensions. For clients with larger pensions, a SIPP lets the pension be managed as part of your overall portfolio, with the same strategy and reporting. It also gives full flexibility to draw income and pass funds to beneficiaries. It’s often where old workplace pensions are brought together.

For most people, no. A defined benefit pension pays a secure income for life, usually rising with inflation, with a pension for your spouse if you die. That’s hard and expensive to replace. By law, you must take regulated advice before transferring one worth more than £30,000, and the FCA’s starting assumption is that a transfer isn’t suitable. There can be exceptions, such as serious ill health or substantial other guaranteed income. We / our pension transfer specialist partner can explain your options.

Yes. The lifetime allowance was abolished in April 2024, but protections such as fixed, individual, primary or enhanced protection can still entitle you to more tax-free cash than the standard £268,275. They also give you a higher limit on tax-free lump sums paid on death. For example, fixed protection 2016 typically allows up to £312,500 tax-free. If you hold a protection certificate, keep it safe and tell us before you take benefits or transfer, because the order and method of withdrawal can affect what you receive.

Yes, and you should tell each provider who you want to benefit, using a nomination or expression of wish form, because pensions usually pass outside your will. If you die before 75, beneficiaries can usually draw the money free of income tax. After 75, their withdrawals are taxed as their income. From April 2027, unused pensions also count towards your estate for inheritance tax. Nominating beneficiaries to inherit the fund as a pension rather than a lump sum lets them spread withdrawals and manage their tax.

Yes. Anyone under 75 can pay up to £2,880 a year into a personal pension and receive basic-rate tax relief, taking it to £3,600. That includes a non-working spouse, children and grandchildren, which makes pensions a useful way for grandparents to help the next generation. If you have earnings, you can contribute more, up to 100% of your earnings within your annual allowance. Tax relief on contributions stops at 75.

Usually, 25% of each withdrawal is tax-free and the rest is taxed as income at your marginal rate. Alternatively, you can take your tax-free cash first as a lump sum. Your first flexible withdrawal is often taxed on an emergency basis, meaning too much tax is deducted. You can reclaim it from HMRC, or it’s adjusted later in the tax year. Spreading income across tax years, and using both partners’ personal allowances and basic-rate bands, can significantly reduce the total tax you pay over retirement.